[APML] Machholz Mosaic

["Chris Cook" <ccook@cape.com>]

Hi everyone,

Nights of good imaging have been few and far between since winter set in
around here.  However, I did get two halfway decent nights around the first
of the month.  I imaged Machholz with the FS102 and 400F.  I used the ST-4
to guide on the nucleus but boy it was a real pain in the butt!  Probably
the toughest comet I've ever had to guide on.  There was a faint star right
next to the nuc which the ST-4 kept wanting to lock onto.  I ended up
defocusing the guidescope slightly so the faint star would fade out yet the
comet's nuc was still bright enough to guide on.  It seemed to work since
the guiding definitely improved after that.

So, here's a two frame mosaic showing the comet's position on the evening of
the 5th and the next evening the 6th.  I had a tough time trying to get the
two images to match since transparency was not as good on the 6th with some
very thin haze around... also there was more moisture in the air.  Let me
know what you think.  Also, note how the ion tail changed over a 24hr
period.

Mosaic:
http://www.abmedia.com/astro/current/machholz-mosaic.html

Here's a shot of just the comet on the 5th:
http://www.abmedia.com/astro/current/machholz-020505.html

Comments always welcome!  Enjoy the view.

Chris

-----------------------------
Chris Cook Photography
www.cookphoto.com



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